House prices show 15% leap

Tuesday 8 January 2002 00:00 BST

HOUSE prices in Britain rose a seasonally-adjusted 2.9% on the month in December and were up 15.5% from a year earlier, according to the latest monthly survey released by the Halifax bank. In November, house prices rose 2.9% on the month and were up 9.4% year-on-year.

The Halifax said house price inflation was very strong in 2001, rising from around 3% to 4% at the start of the year to more than 15% in December.

Despite the terror attacks on America on 11 September and the dramatic slowdown in the world economy the housing market has shown remarkable resilience, Halifax said.

The bank said the latest figures show the strongest monthly rise since October 1999 and this largely reflects a revival in consumer confidence, something a number of economic indicators have shown in recent weeks. Slowing economic growth and rising unemployment should help to ease house price inflation to more moderate levels over the course of 2002.

According to Halifax the average house price rose to an adjusted £98,885 from £96,010 in November.